Hundley is learning that soft hands are the best way for him to catch on

Nick Hundley led the Padres in innings caught last season, and will be counted on to carry a heavier load this season. Said manager Bud Black: "He has to clean some things up (from a technique standpoint), but I think as far as his receiving skills and some of the things we look at from the technical side, he can handle a big part of the season."
— K.C. Alfred / K.C. Alfred/Union-Tribune

Nick Hundley led the Padres in innings caught last season, and will be counted on to carry a heavier load this season. Said manager Bud Black: "He has to clean some things up (from a technique standpoint), but I think as far as his receiving skills and some of the things we look at from the technical side, he can handle a big part of the season."
— K.C. Alfred / K.C. Alfred/Union-Tribune

It's not enough to stop the ball before it rolls to the backstop. It's not enough to shield the umpire from sailing fastballs and bouncing curves. If a catcher does not catch the ball correctly, if he does not “frame” the pitch for optimum viewing, he can cause a strike to be called a ball.

“I know the way a catcher catches the ball has an effect on the umpire,” said Duffy Dyer, the Padres' roving catching instructor. “Umpires like to umpire behind guys who don't move a whole lot, who give them a good look at the pitch. I know framing the ball or presenting the pitch where the umpire can see it makes a difference.

“It varies from game to game like umpires vary, (but) it's at least a couple of pitches a game.”

When Hundley graduated from the Triple-A Portland Beavers to the Padres last summer, his reputation was for quality tools rather than refinement. He hit 50 home runs in 316 minor-league games and showed a throwing arm that Padres manager Bud Black characterizes as “major league quality for sure, maybe a little bit above.”

At issue was his polish behind the plate, specifically a tendency to grab at pitches instead of gently absorbing them. Umpires prefer catchers whose bodies and gloves remain relatively still, Black said, and those qualities can sometimes make the difference between strike three and ball four.

It is in this area, Dyer said, where Hundley has made the most marked progress since the start of last season. It is for this reason, among others, that Padres pitchers are gaining trust in their 25-year-old target.

To the trained baseball eye, Hundley is starting to move more subtly, showing “softer hands.”

“I thought that's where he improved so much last year,” Dyer said. “The first couple times I saw him in the Fall League two years ago, even warming up pitchers, he didn't have softer hands. I think his setup is a little different. He's catching the ball properly, giving with it.

“You don't want to stab it. You're going to drop a lot of pitches that way. If you drop a pitch, even if it's a strike, they're not going to call it a strike most of the time. And you have to catch the ball properly with soft hands if you're going to throw somebody out.”

Hundley snuffed 13 out of 55 prospective base stealers last season – a 23.6 percent success rate that was the highest among the Padres' five catchers – but his four passed balls and catcher's earned-run average of 4.80 were the worst on the club. Though these were respectable numbers for a rookie, the Padres clearly expect and perceive improvement.

“Nick has, we think, a nice upside to his potential,” Black said. “We think that he can, workload-wise, handle the great majority of the season 'cause he's well-built, he's sturdy, he's young (and) he's shown durability.